Woozle/Jenny/story - Revision history

Woozle at 14:35, 29 September 2023

2023-09-29T14:35:55Z

Woozle: /* Woozle Meets Jenny */ Egypt has a page now

2019-11-01T22:46:18Z

Woozle Meets Jenny: Egypt has a page now

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:46, 1 November 2019
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	J and I decided we wanted to [[../note/009\|get together after school]], to continue unfinished conversations from school in a less interruptable environment. We were both too embarrassed to mention each other to our parents, so we opted for a quasi-secret meeting place in the woods up the street (about 1/4 mile from both our houses), which apparently had somehow become known as "Egypt" in Jenny's family. Someone had started to build a residential subdivision there and ran out of money, so there were all these curbs and cleared areas with trees just starting to come back. Sort of a post-civilization ''Planet of the Apes'' setting. (It was eventually re-developed and is now the site of [http://www.forestduke.com/ The Forest at Duke], though the lay of the land circa 1981 is still detectable in places and I often get weird little tugs in my head when we drive through there to visit Jenny's/[[User:Harena\|Sandy]]'s mom.)		J and I decided we wanted to [[../note/009\|get together after school]], to continue unfinished conversations from school in a less interruptable environment. We were both too embarrassed to mention each other to our parents, so we opted for a quasi-secret meeting place in the woods up the street (about 1/4 mile from both our houses), which apparently had somehow become known as "[[Egypt]]" in Jenny's family. Someone had started to build a residential subdivision there and ran out of money, so there were all these curbs and cleared areas with trees just starting to come back. Sort of a post-civilization ''Planet of the Apes'' setting. (It was eventually re-developed and is now the site of [http://www.forestduke.com/ The Forest at Duke], though the lay of the land circa 1981 is still detectable in places and I often get weird little tugs in my head when we drive through there to visit Jenny's/[[User:Harena\|Sandy]]'s mom.)

	(One time I rode on my bike, a [[wikipedia:Raleigh Bicycle Company\|Raleigh]] RSW 16 with small, fat, all-white tires, to meet her; she apparently found it quite embarrassing to be walking with someone who had such an odd bike, and even considered leaving at one point when I went to move the bike out of sight of the road. This perhaps shows a glimpse of Jenny's neurotic side.)		(One time I rode on my bike, a [[wikipedia:Raleigh Bicycle Company\|Raleigh]] RSW 16 with small, fat, all-white tires, to meet her; she apparently found it quite embarrassing to be walking with someone who had such an odd bike, and even considered leaving at one point when I went to move the bike out of sight of the road. This perhaps shows a glimpse of Jenny's neurotic side.)

Woozle: /* Woozle Meets Jenny */

2018-02-17T18:20:06Z

Woozle Meets Jenny

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:20, 17 February 2018
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	I think the first time I remember recognizing her as an individual, rather than as one of the sea of faces belonging to children of people my parents knew or some other such broad category, was when I was with my mother at the [[Museum of Life & Science]] and we ran into her with her mother. This was a fairly common occurrence – running into contemporaries in the tow of their mothers, nothing of significance being said – except that this time, while the the two moms were talking, she was looking at me. There were radio signals going out. I could feel them coming across, but had such low expectations as regards to friendship from interesting people that I filed it along with my other idle people-fantasies. This would have been the summer of 1979 or so.		I think the first time I remember recognizing her as an individual, rather than as one of the sea of faces belonging to children of people my parents knew or some other such broad category, was when I was with my mother at the [[Museum of Life & Science]] and we ran into her with her mother. This was a fairly common occurrence – running into contemporaries in the tow of their mothers, nothing of significance being said – except that this time, while the the two moms were talking, she was looking at me. There were radio signals going out. I could feel them coming across, but had such low expectations as regards to friendship from interesting people that I filed it along with my other idle people-fantasies. This would have been the summer of 1979 or so.

	'''Fall of 1979''': I changed schools from [[DA]] to [[CFS]]. I was in ninth grade, J still in 8th, so we didn't meet much except that we shared a bus. I remember occasionally trading jokes with her on the bus, talking about various books on occasion. I remember seeing [[Tigger]] with her, though Tigger didn't (when the subject arose many years later) remember seeing me. I don't specifically recall seeing C or E during this time; C kept pretty quiet, I guess, and E rode a different bus.		'''Fall of 1979''': I changed schools from [[DA]] to [[CFS]]. I was in ninth grade, J still in 8th, so we didn't meet much except that we shared a bus. I remember occasionally trading jokes with her on the bus, talking about various books on occasion. I remember seeing [[Woozle/Tigger\|Tigger]] with her, though Tigger didn't (when the subject arose many years later) remember seeing me. I don't specifically recall seeing C or E during this time; C kept pretty quiet, I guess, and E rode a different bus.

	My family visited Mexico for the month of August, 1980; for some reason, I remember thinking about the upcoming school year during that time, and considering J as a potential friend, but didn't think it very likely. She wasn't the only one I was thinking about either, which probably shows how much I was paying attention.		My family visited Mexico for the month of August, 1980; for some reason, I remember thinking about the upcoming school year during that time, and considering J as a potential friend, but didn't think it very likely. She wasn't the only one I was thinking about either, which probably shows how much I was paying attention.
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	Eventually she [[../note/001\|reciprocated]], and ultimately sent me over a hundred [[../note\|notes]]. I wrote over 200, I think. I don't have them, though. But I have all the notes she sent me.		Eventually she [[../note/001\|reciprocated]], and ultimately sent me over a hundred [[../note\|notes]]. I wrote over 200, I think. I don't have them, though. But I have all the notes she sent me.

	For awhile we were a group -- J, C, E, and me were self-dubbed "The Goresum Foursum", a name inherited from two years earlier when ~~[[Woozle/~~Tigger~~\|Tigger]]~~ had been the fourth member. We would hang out together on the deck for lunch and in between classes {{l/photo\|File:Jrh-1982-last.big.jpg\|yearbook photo of J on the deck}}. We weren't exactly an in-group, but we didn't feel like outcasts. (Then again, CFS was never the kind of place where you could get away with systematically excluding anyone – not compared to most places, anyway, despite C's grumblings about "cliquishness".) J and C seemed to have this sort of special status where there were a lot of people (out of all 130 or so students in the high school...) who quietly respected them.		For awhile we were a group -- J, C, E, and me were self-dubbed "The Goresum Foursum", a name inherited from two years earlier when Tigger had been the fourth member. We would hang out together on the deck for lunch and in between classes {{l/photo\|File:Jrh-1982-last.big.jpg\|yearbook photo of J on the deck}}. We weren't exactly an in-group, but we didn't feel like outcasts. (Then again, CFS was never the kind of place where you could get away with systematically excluding anyone – not compared to most places, anyway, despite C's grumblings about "cliquishness".) J and C seemed to have this sort of special status where there were a lot of people (out of all 130 or so students in the high school...) who quietly respected them.

	This was the extent of ''our'' cliquishness: We used to quote from ''The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', when it was first played on public radio (and before the books were available in the US). We were avid Dr. Who fans, before we had heard of anyone else who had even heard of the show. (It was still the Tom Baker era, in the reruns they were showing; C knitted E a replica of The Scarf as a present one year {{l/photo\|File:Elaine Erika Jenny slide.web.jpg\|EL, E, and J all wearing it}} We watched many of the same nature and science documentaries on WUNC, because that's the sort of TV our families were into, and made fun of Carl Sagan and David Attenborough.		This was the extent of ''our'' cliquishness: We used to quote from ''The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', when it was first played on public radio (and before the books were available in the US). We were avid Dr. Who fans, before we had heard of anyone else who had even heard of the show. (It was still the Tom Baker era, in the reruns they were showing; C knitted E a replica of The Scarf as a present one year {{l/photo\|File:Elaine Erika Jenny slide.web.jpg\|EL, E, and J all wearing it}} We watched many of the same nature and science documentaries on WUNC, because that's the sort of TV our families were into, and made fun of Carl Sagan and David Attenborough.
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	I do need to mention that at some point during all this, I found myself feeling unaccountably optimistic and cheerful for the first time in many years. I started standing up straighter, just a little, instead of slouching as tends to be my habit.		I do need to mention that at some point during all this, I found myself feeling unaccountably optimistic and cheerful for the first time in many years. I started standing up straighter, just a little, instead of slouching as tends to be my habit.

			[[Category:Boxes\|Sidebar]]
			[[Category:Jenny\|Woozle/Jenny/story]]
			[[Category:Links\|Lc]]
			[[Category:Stories\|Woozle/Jenny]]

	==Room 3==		==Room 3==
	We gradually became more comfortable with each other, and our back-and-forth notes gradually became more serious. We both felt trapped in a lot of ways. We both felt inadequate in a lot of ways. We were able to talk about stuff that nobody else had been interested in hearing about. (I became somewhat addicted to these discussions, which became a bit of a problem later.)		We gradually became more comfortable with each other, and our back-and-forth notes gradually became more serious. We both felt trapped in a lot of ways. We both felt inadequate in a lot of ways. We were able to talk about stuff that nobody else had been interested in hearing about. (I became somewhat addicted to these discussions, which became a bit of a problem later.)

Woozle: some links and updates/corrections

2018-02-17T18:18:56Z

some links and updates/corrections

Show changes

Woozle: some link updates etc.

2017-11-02T21:46:03Z

some link updates etc.

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:46, 2 November 2017
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	==Woozle Meets Jenny==		==Woozle Meets Jenny==
	We lived in the same academic suburban neighborhood, but didn't really meet until shortly before we ended up at the same school. Our parents knew each other from the University, though my dad & hers were in different departments. Our street numbers were almost the same -- 2719 versus 2715 -- but on different streets about 3 blocks from each other. We were born the same year, 1965 ([[wikipedia:That Was the Year That Was\|The Year That Was]]), but about six months apart.		We lived in the same academic suburban neighborhood, but didn't really meet until shortly before we ended up at the same school. Our parents knew each other from the University, though my dad & hers were in different departments. Our street numbers were almost the same – {{lc\|2719 McDowell\|2719}} versus {{lc\|2715 Montgomery\|2715}} – but on different streets about 3 blocks from each other. We were born the same year, 1965 ([[wikipedia:That Was the Year That Was\|The Year That Was]]), but about six months apart.

	I think the first time I remember recognizing her as an individual, rather than as one of the sea of faces belonging to children of people my parents knew or some other such broad category, was when I was with my mother at the [[Museum of Life & Science]] and we ran into her with her mother. This was a fairly common occurrence – running into contemporaries in the tow of their mothers, nothing of significance being said – except that this time, while the the two moms were talking, she was looking at me. There were radio signals going out. I could feel them coming across, but had such low expectations as regards to friendship from interesting people that I filed it along with my other idle people-fantasies. This would have been the summer of 1979 or so.		I think the first time I remember recognizing her as an individual, rather than as one of the sea of faces belonging to children of people my parents knew or some other such broad category, was when I was with my mother at the [[Museum of Life & Science]] and we ran into her with her mother. This was a fairly common occurrence – running into contemporaries in the tow of their mothers, nothing of significance being said – except that this time, while the the two moms were talking, she was looking at me. There were radio signals going out. I could feel them coming across, but had such low expectations as regards to friendship from interesting people that I filed it along with my other idle people-fantasies. This would have been the summer of 1979 or so.
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	I started leaving humorous notes in her locker soon after that, generally signed with any of various (typically lengthy) pseudonyms which eventually evolved into "The Mysterious Person Who Writes Stupid Things on Blank Pieces of Paper and Puts Them in People's Lockers", aka TMPWWSToBPoPaPTiPL. I seem to recall something about a note dated 1645 which apologized for the long gap between notes and blamed Ye Olde Maile Servys for slow delivery.		I started leaving humorous notes in her locker soon after that, generally signed with any of various (typically lengthy) pseudonyms which eventually evolved into "The Mysterious Person Who Writes Stupid Things on Blank Pieces of Paper and Puts Them in People's Lockers", aka TMPWWSToBPoPaPTiPL. I seem to recall something about a note dated 1645 which apologized for the long gap between notes and blamed Ye Olde Maile Servys for slow delivery.

	Eventually she [[~~1980-10-15 Jenny Note~~\|reciprocated]], and ultimately sent me over 50 notes ~~(or was it 100?)~~. I wrote over 200, I think. I don't have them, though. But I have all the notes she sent me.		Eventually she [[../note/001\|reciprocated]], and ultimately sent me over a hundred [[../note\|notes]]. I wrote over 200, I think. I don't have them, though. But I have all the notes she sent me.

	For awhile we were a group -- J, C, E, and me were self-dubbed "The Goresum Foursum", a name inherited from two years earlier when [[Tigger]] had been the fourth member. We would hang out together on the deck for lunch and in between classes {{l/photo\|File:Jrh-1982-last.big.jpg\|yearbook photo of J on the deck}}. We weren't exactly an in-group, but we didn't feel like outcasts. (Then again, CFS was never the kind of place where you could get away with systematically excluding anyone – not compared to most places, anyway, despite C's grumblings about "cliquishness".) J and C seemed to have this sort of special status where there were a lot of people (out of all 130 or so students in the high school...) who quietly respected them.		For awhile we were a group -- J, C, E, and me were self-dubbed "The Goresum Foursum", a name inherited from two years earlier when [[Tigger]] had been the fourth member. We would hang out together on the deck for lunch and in between classes {{l/photo\|File:Jrh-1982-last.big.jpg\|yearbook photo of J on the deck}}. We weren't exactly an in-group, but we didn't feel like outcasts. (Then again, CFS was never the kind of place where you could get away with systematically excluding anyone – not compared to most places, anyway, despite C's grumblings about "cliquishness".) J and C seemed to have this sort of special status where there were a lot of people (out of all 130 or so students in the high school...) who quietly respected them.
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	I do need to mention that at some point during all this, I found myself feeling unaccountably optimistic and cheerful for the first time in many years. I started standing up straighter, just a little, instead of slouching as tends to be my habit.		I do need to mention that at some point during all this, I found myself feeling unaccountably optimistic and cheerful for the first time in many years. I started standing up straighter, just a little, instead of slouching as tends to be my habit.

	~~[[Category:Stories\|Woozle/Jenny]]~~

	==Room 3==		==Room 3==
	We gradually became more comfortable with each other, and our back-and-forth notes gradually became more serious. We both felt trapped in a lot of ways. We both felt inadequate in a lot of ways. We were able to talk about stuff that nobody else had been interested in hearing about. (I became somewhat addicted to these discussions, which became a bit of a problem later.)		We gradually became more comfortable with each other, and our back-and-forth notes gradually became more serious. We both felt trapped in a lot of ways. We both felt inadequate in a lot of ways. We were able to talk about stuff that nobody else had been interested in hearing about. (I became somewhat addicted to these discussions, which became a bit of a problem later.)
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	Some people reading this who don't know me very well may be jumping to conclusions at this point, so let me be clear: Things did not become "hot and heavy" or "steamy" at this point. That would have been in complete violation of what our friendship was about. We supported each other as people, and that's what was most important. For the entire time I knew her, if you must know (and you must, because I'm going to tell you) I never saw more of Jenny's skin than up to ankles and shoulders (from the appropriate directions). I was definitely attracted to her, yes, but the ''friendship'' was sacred; acting on those feelings would have threatened the friendship, so that was off the table.		Some people reading this who don't know me very well may be jumping to conclusions at this point, so let me be clear: Things did not become "hot and heavy" or "steamy" at this point. That would have been in complete violation of what our friendship was about. We supported each other as people, and that's what was most important. For the entire time I knew her, if you must know (and you must, because I'm going to tell you) I never saw more of Jenny's skin than up to ankles and shoulders (from the appropriate directions). I was definitely attracted to her, yes, but the ''friendship'' was sacred; acting on those feelings would have threatened the friendship, so that was off the table.

	~~[[Category:Stories\|Woozle/Jenny]]~~

	==Loss #1==		==Loss #1==
	Lots of other stuff happened after that which I'll have to go back and read about in order to prompt my memory, so I'm going to skip to the next part.		Lots of other stuff happened after that which I'll have to go back and read about in order to prompt my memory, so I'm going to skip to the next part.
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	When we got back from the beach, I realized that I was completely not up to the thought of going back to school and having to be actively not-friends with Jenny, so I pleaded to do something different instead... and made what was probably my first big mistake which essentially resulted in my academic career going straight down the tubes from that point, but that's a subject for another time. I don't know if things might have gone better had I stuck around CFS, or taken a year off; maybe there would have been opportunity for reconciliation, or maybe someone would have noticed that I needed help. I did get some counselling at the place I went instead, but the help they could offer was limited to studying habits ''because it didn't even occur to me to bring up the stuff that had happened with Jenny''.		When we got back from the beach, I realized that I was completely not up to the thought of going back to school and having to be actively not-friends with Jenny, so I pleaded to do something different instead... and made what was probably my first big mistake which essentially resulted in my academic career going straight down the tubes from that point, but that's a subject for another time. I don't know if things might have gone better had I stuck around CFS, or taken a year off; maybe there would have been opportunity for reconciliation, or maybe someone would have noticed that I needed help. I did get some counselling at the place I went instead, but the help they could offer was limited to studying habits ''because it didn't even occur to me to bring up the stuff that had happened with Jenny''.


	==Jenny Is Missing==		==Jenny Is Missing==
	{\| align=right style="background-color: #bbbbbb; border: 3px solid #444444; font-size: smaller;"		{\| align=right style="background-color: #bbbbbb; border: 3px solid #444444; font-size: smaller;"
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	So I went to the beach for the weekend, and when we came back she was still missing.		So I went to the beach for the weekend, and when we came back she was still missing.

	~~[[Category:Stories\|Woozle/Jenny]]~~

	==Jenny Is Still Missing==		==Jenny Is Still Missing==

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	\| <small>''"She said 'I got some news this morning up from Choctaw Ridge / Today Billie Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchee Bridge.'" – [[wikipedia:Ode to Billie Joe\|Bobbie Gentry]]''</small>		\| <small>''"She said 'I got some news this morning up from Choctaw Ridge / Today Billie Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchee Bridge.'" – [[wikipedia:Ode to Billie Joe\|Bobbie Gentry]]''</small>
	\|}		\|}

	</center>		</center>

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	\| align=right \| −Buttercup, ''The Princess Bride''		\| align=right \| −Buttercup, ''The Princess Bride''
	\|}		\|}


	She would have been a senior that year, and the school set aside an empty chair at the ceremony. She had always been terrified of her frequent inability to concentrate on her schoolwork -- and now she was being graduated (albeit symbolically) despite having missed over a year. I'm sure they would have graduated her for real if it would have brought her back, and that's part of what I don't think she ever realized: that her problems just weren't as huge as they seemed to her; she wasn't the failure she thought, or had been implicitly told, she was in danger of becoming. Or were the problems really so insurmountable, and just seem smaller in retrospect? As someone who is hardly a huge success in life, I can't exactly go back metaphorically and say "Look, Jenny – everything [[wikipedia:It Gets Better Project\|will be okay]]; you just have to hang on for a little while." Because things ''aren't'' okay, and I don't know if they ever will be. But still... a lot of people would have moved heaven and earth to save her, "success" or not.		She would have been a senior that year, and the school set aside an empty chair at the ceremony. She had always been terrified of her frequent inability to concentrate on her schoolwork -- and now she was being graduated (albeit symbolically) despite having missed over a year. I'm sure they would have graduated her for real if it would have brought her back, and that's part of what I don't think she ever realized: that her problems just weren't as huge as they seemed to her; she wasn't the failure she thought, or had been implicitly told, she was in danger of becoming. Or were the problems really so insurmountable, and just seem smaller in retrospect? As someone who is hardly a huge success in life, I can't exactly go back metaphorically and say "Look, Jenny – everything [[wikipedia:It Gets Better Project\|will be okay]]; you just have to hang on for a little while." Because things ''aren't'' okay, and I don't know if they ever will be. But still... a lot of people would have moved heaven and earth to save her, "success" or not.
	{\| align=right style="background-color: #eeffee; font-size: smaller; border: 3px solid #006600;"		{\| align=right style="background-color: #eeffee; font-size: smaller; border: 3px solid #006600;"
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	''But you don't understand -- '''she was my FRIEND'''.''		''But you don't understand -- '''she was my FRIEND'''.''

	~~[[Category:Stories\|Woozle/Jenny]]~~

	==The End==		==The End==
	[[Image:NEWS1.JPG\|350px\|Durham Morning Herald, 1984-06-05]]		[[Image:NEWS1.JPG\|350px\|Durham Morning Herald, 1984-06-05]]
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	==Notes==		==Notes==
	While a year and a half of friendship seems brief, I suppose it [https://archive.is/XZc8r could have been briefer] ([https://plus.google.com/u/0/+YonatanZunger/posts/ivbZTpsj3wx via]). (On the other hand, that person [https://archive.is/R18zz might still be alive].)		While a year and a half of friendship seems brief, I suppose it [https://archive.is/XZc8r could have been briefer] ([https://plus.google.com/u/0/+YonatanZunger/posts/ivbZTpsj3wx via]). (On the other hand, that person [https://archive.is/R18zz might still be alive].)

			[[Category:Stories\|Woozle/Jenny]]

Woozle: Woozle moved page User:Woozle/Jenny to Woozle/Jenny/story: reorganizing stuff

2017-10-02T11:12:42Z

Woozle moved page User:Woozle/Jenny to Woozle/Jenny/story: reorganizing stuff

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:12, 2 October 2017
(No difference)

Woozle: /* Jenny Is Still Missing */ detail correction

2017-08-19T17:21:55Z

Jenny Is Still Missing: detail correction

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:21, 19 August 2017
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	==Jenny Is Still Missing==		==Jenny Is Still Missing==

	[[Image:Jrh-news1.big.jpg\|thumb\|Durham Morning Herald]]		[[Image:Jrh-news1.big.jpg\|thumb\|From The ''Durham Morning Herald'' – but the headline is wrong; she was 17.]]

	It was when we got back from the beach and heard she was still missing that I got on the bike (that same small-wheeled 3-speed bicycle she had once found so embarrassing) and went out hunting for a couple of hours, passing within yards (how many yards? I still don't know exactly where...) of where she was later found (possibly even then still alive, for all anyone knows). Though it seems highly unlikely, I still like to torture myself with it every now and then -- that and the fact that I had passed up the opportunity, on the last day of her life, to tell her that I loved her. (I found out much, ''much'' later that she had [[Jenny/recollections\|gone on a field trip that day]], and probably wouldn't have been there anyway.)		It was when we got back from the beach and heard she was still missing that I got on the bike (that same small-wheeled 3-speed bicycle she had once found so embarrassing) and went out hunting for a couple of hours, passing within yards (how many yards? I still don't know exactly where...) of where she was later found (possibly even then still alive, for all anyone knows). Though it seems highly unlikely, I still like to torture myself with it every now and then -- that and the fact that I had passed up the opportunity, on the last day of her life, to tell her that I loved her. (I found out much, ''much'' later that she had [[Jenny/recollections\|gone on a field trip that day]], and probably wouldn't have been there anyway.)

Woozle: /* Jenny Is Missing */ it was spring, near the end of the academic year

2017-06-19T00:57:36Z

Jenny Is Missing: it was spring, near the end of the academic year

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:57, 19 June 2017
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	well there's always someone you cannot replace		well there's always someone you cannot replace
	\|-		\|-
	\| align=right \| —[[wikipedia:Ro Sham Bo (album)\|The Grays]], "Same Thing"		\| align=right \| —[[wikipedia:Ro Sham Bo (album)\|The Grays]]<br>"Same Thing"
	\|}		\|}
	'''1983.''' I was trying again to integrate myself into the academic world, mostly failing miserably (sometimes succeeding moderately for brief stretches), and generally hating life. It was a Thursday, and I had almost decided to bicycle out to school and, despite fearing her reaction, tell her that I still loved her no matter what (Never mind whether she thought I was too immature because I probably was, never mind if she never wanted to talk to me ever again -- I just really appreciated who she was, and would support her efforts to be herself to the best of my ability given the opportunity, and didn't want her to think that I had lost interest in her and was staying away because I preferred to. I wanted her to know that she had a supporter if she needed one. I probably wouldn't have been all that eloquent, but it's all true.) -- but talked myself out of it.		'''Spring 1983.''' I was trying again to integrate myself into the academic world, mostly failing miserably (sometimes succeeding moderately for brief stretches), and generally hating life. It was a Thursday, and I had almost decided to bicycle out to school and, despite fearing her reaction, tell her that I still loved her no matter what (Never mind whether she thought I was too immature because I probably was, never mind if she never wanted to talk to me ever again -- I just really appreciated who she was, and would support her efforts to be herself to the best of my ability given the opportunity, and didn't want her to think that I had lost interest in her and was staying away because I preferred to. I wanted her to know that she had a supporter if she needed one. I probably wouldn't have been all that eloquent, but it's all true.) -- but talked myself out of it.

	The next day, we (myself and family) were packing to go to the beach when I got a call from C (with whom I hadn't spoken in months, she having retreated from me long before Jenny did and for much the same reasons) asking if we'd seen or heard anything from Jenny or had any idea where she might be.		The next day, we (myself and family) were packing to go to the beach when I got a call from C (with whom I hadn't spoken in months, she having retreated from me long before Jenny did and for much the same reasons) asking if we'd seen or heard anything from Jenny or had any idea where she might be.
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	So I went to the beach for the weekend, and when we came back she was still missing.		So I went to the beach for the weekend, and when we came back she was still missing.

			[[Category:Stories\|Woozle/Jenny]]

	==Jenny Is Still Missing==		==Jenny Is Still Missing==

Woozle: /* Woozle Meets Jenny */ making the timeline clearer

2017-06-19T00:51:57Z

Woozle Meets Jenny: making the timeline clearer

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:51, 19 June 2017
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	==Woozle Meets Jenny==		==Woozle Meets Jenny==
	We lived in the same academic suburban neighborhood, but didn't really meet until shortly before ~~I changed schools (from DA to [[CFS]])~~. Our parents knew each other from the University, though my dad & hers were in different departments. Our street numbers were almost the same -- 2719 versus 2715 -- but on different streets about 3 blocks from each other. We were born the same year, 1965 ([[wikipedia:That Was the Year That Was\|The Year That Was]]), but about six months apart.		We lived in the same academic suburban neighborhood, but didn't really meet until shortly before we ended up at the same school. Our parents knew each other from the University, though my dad & hers were in different departments. Our street numbers were almost the same -- 2719 versus 2715 -- but on different streets about 3 blocks from each other. We were born the same year, 1965 ([[wikipedia:That Was the Year That Was\|The Year That Was]]), but about six months apart.

	I think the first time I remember recognizing her as an individual, rather than as one of the sea of faces belonging to children of people my parents knew or some other such broad category, was when I was with my mother at the [[Museum of Life & Science]] and we ran into her with her mother. This was a fairly common occurrence – running into contemporaries in the tow of their mothers, nothing of significance being said – except that this time, while the the two moms were talking, she was looking at me. There were radio signals going out. I could feel them coming across, but had such low expectations as regards to friendship from interesting people that I filed it along with my other idle people-fantasies. This would have been the summer of 1979 or so.		I think the first time I remember recognizing her as an individual, rather than as one of the sea of faces belonging to children of people my parents knew or some other such broad category, was when I was with my mother at the [[Museum of Life & Science]] and we ran into her with her mother. This was a fairly common occurrence – running into contemporaries in the tow of their mothers, nothing of significance being said – except that this time, while the the two moms were talking, she was looking at me. There were radio signals going out. I could feel them coming across, but had such low expectations as regards to friendship from interesting people that I filed it along with my other idle people-fantasies. This would have been the summer of 1979 or so.

	~~In the fall~~ of 1979 ~~was when~~ I changed schools to CFS. I was in ninth grade, J still in 8th, so we didn't meet much except that we shared a bus. I remember occasionally trading jokes with her on the bus, talking about various books on occasion. I remember seeing [[Tigger]] with her, though Tigger didn't (when the subject arose many years later) remember seeing me. I don't specifically recall seeing C or E during this time; C kept pretty quiet, I guess, and E rode a different bus.		'''Fall of 1979''': I changed schools from [[DA]] to [[CFS]]. I was in ninth grade, J still in 8th, so we didn't meet much except that we shared a bus. I remember occasionally trading jokes with her on the bus, talking about various books on occasion. I remember seeing [[Tigger]] with her, though Tigger didn't (when the subject arose many years later) remember seeing me. I don't specifically recall seeing C or E during this time; C kept pretty quiet, I guess, and E rode a different bus.

	My family visited Mexico for the month of August, 1980; for some reason, I remember thinking about the upcoming school year during that time, and considering J as a potential friend, but didn't think it very likely. She wasn't the only one I was thinking about either, which probably shows how much I was paying attention.		My family visited Mexico for the month of August, 1980; for some reason, I remember thinking about the upcoming school year during that time, and considering J as a potential friend, but didn't think it very likely. She wasn't the only one I was thinking about either, which probably shows how much I was paying attention.

	~~In the~~ Fall of 1980, J & C & E all graduated to the Upper School. I don't think we interacted all that much right away.		'''Fall of 1980''': J & C & E all graduated to the Upper School. I don't think we interacted all that much right away.

	The original draft of this account said "in fact, I can't remember what drew us together. Odd. I'd never even thought to try and remember that. Too painful, maybe?" I remember it now; it was at Quaker Lake – she stole my shoes and ran off with them. I was angry at first, because it brought back the memories of being teased by the kids at DA (as well as a similar incident where kids stole my indoor-shoes in the cloak room in the school in England when I was in 3rd grade, and I got in trouble for running around the cloak room trying to get my shoes back). It was during "silent hour", and I remember being embarrassed that I accidentally allowed a door to slam (Linda <s>Sobsey</s> Belans looked at me sternly and made a "shhh!" gesture), and then angry at Jenny for being the initial cause (while fully realizing the futility of "she made me do it!" as an excuse -- but fortunately Quakers aren't big on punishment or by-the-book rule-following, so the Stern Look was the worst of it). At some point, though, it must have gotten through to me that she wasn't trying to make me look stupid; she was just playing, trying to get my attention. (I think it was after I grumpily demanded my shoes back.)		The original draft of this account said "in fact, I can't remember what drew us together. Odd. I'd never even thought to try and remember that. Too painful, maybe?" I remember it now; it was at Quaker Lake – she stole my shoes and ran off with them. I was angry at first, because it brought back the memories of being teased by the kids at DA (as well as a similar incident where kids stole my indoor-shoes in the cloak room in the school in England when I was in 3rd grade, and I got in trouble for running around the cloak room trying to get my shoes back). It was during "silent hour", and I remember being embarrassed that I accidentally allowed a door to slam (Linda <s>Sobsey</s> Belans looked at me sternly and made a "shhh!" gesture), and then angry at Jenny for being the initial cause (while fully realizing the futility of "she made me do it!" as an excuse -- but fortunately Quakers aren't big on punishment or by-the-book rule-following, so the Stern Look was the worst of it). At some point, though, it must have gotten through to me that she wasn't trying to make me look stupid; she was just playing, trying to get my attention. (I think it was after I grumpily demanded my shoes back.)

Woozle: edited for consistency; also new info

2017-06-06T00:53:59Z

edited for consistency; also new info

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:53, 6 June 2017
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	[[Image:Jrh-news1.big.jpg\|thumb\|Durham Morning Herald]]		[[Image:Jrh-news1.big.jpg\|thumb\|Durham Morning Herald]]

	It was when we got back from the beach and heard she was still missing that I got on the bike (that same small-wheeled 3-speed bicycle she had once found so embarrassing) and went out hunting for a couple of hours, passing within yards (how many yards? I still don't know exactly where...) of where she was later found (possibly even then still alive, for all anyone knows). Though it seems highly unlikely, I still like to torture myself with it every now and then -- that and the fact that I ~~almost visited her at [[CFS\|school]]~~ the last day of her life, to tell her that I loved her.		It was when we got back from the beach and heard she was still missing that I got on the bike (that same small-wheeled 3-speed bicycle she had once found so embarrassing) and went out hunting for a couple of hours, passing within yards (how many yards? I still don't know exactly where...) of where she was later found (possibly even then still alive, for all anyone knows). Though it seems highly unlikely, I still like to torture myself with it every now and then -- that and the fact that I had passed up the opportunity, on the last day of her life, to tell her that I loved her. (I found out much, ''much'' later that she had [[Jenny/recollections\|gone on a field trip that day]], and probably wouldn't have been there anyway.)

	I had been writing her a letter. Since I couldn't deliver it -- part of our "agreement" being that I was not to write her anymore -- it got kind of long. It got much longer very quickly right about then, and even more depressing than it had already been. (I don't have it with me right now, so I'm going on memory.)		I had been writing her a letter. Since I couldn't deliver it -- part of our "agreement" being that I was not to write her anymore -- it got kind of long. It got much longer very quickly right about then, and even more depressing than it had already been. (I don't have it with me right now, so I'm going on memory.)
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	''But you don't understand -- '''she was my FRIEND'''.''		''But you don't understand -- '''she was my FRIEND'''.''

			[[Category:Stories\|Woozle/Jenny]]

	==The End==		==The End==